The Nine Cauldrons

Teng Qingshan took the chance to go for the kill, targeting to slash open Meng Tian’s chest. Knowing that he was in a life or death situation, Meng Tian quickly sprung up the moment his left arm was pierced, and rapidly retreated. Although he was swift in his escape, his left arm was still severed by Teng Qingshan’s Reincarnation Spear. It left a wound on his chest as well.

Hu!

A blood-red figure dashed off to the far distance.

“Teng Qingshan! I, Meng Tian, will definitely pay you back for what you have done today!” Meng Tian shouted out.

Teng Qingshan glared at him coldly.

“Don’t think you can escape your death!” Teng Qingshan chased after him at full speed as well. A red figure and a black figure, one behind the other, charged into the darkness of the wilderness.

......

“How, how could this be possible?” All of the men were dumbstruck.

“Teng Qingshan actually pushed back Meng Tian and severed one of his arms, inflicting a serious injury on him!” The leader of the pack was in shock. The men besides him all started to ask, “Big Brother, was that Meng Tian an expert in the 《Earth Ranking》? How could he be defeated by Teng Qingshan? Now that Teng Qingshan is chasing after him, will he be killed?”

The leader considered for a moment. “Meng Tian’s speed is obviously somewhat faster. But he has lost an arm and has received serious injuries, his speed is bound to slow down. If Teng Qingshan persists in chasing after him, it is possible that he can kill Meng Tian!”

At that moment —-

A big group of men came rushing in from the back. It was Teng Qinghu, Du Hong and the men from the Black Armored Army, as well as Zhu Chongshi and company. Upon seeing the severed arm on the floor, Zhu Chongshi’s face paled. He turned to look at the men who were observing the battle and asked, “Where are Meng Tian and Teng Qingshan?”

The leader quickly replied, “Fellow heroes, we saw the fierce battle between Meng Tian and Teng Qingshan earlier. Meng Tian lost an arm and escaped. Teng Qingshan chased after him!”

“Meng Tian lost?” Du Hong, Teng Qinghu, Zhu Chong Shi and company could not hold back their surprise.

Those who practiced martial arts would be familiar with the 《Earth Ranking》. After hearing the name “Meng Tian”, and seeing the display of his skills, they had all guessed his identity and were concerned for Teng Qingshan. After all, the other party was an extraordinary figure who was listed in the 《Earth Ranking》.

In the wilderness, Teng Qingshan was currently chasing after Meng Tian at flying speed.

“I cut off one of his arms, so he definitely must hold an extreme hatred towards me. Before he took off, he was still gritting his teeth and declaring that he would be back for revenge.”

Teng Qingshan was well aware of the importance of doing a clean job, especially in the case of an expert this strong who also held hatred towards him. It was a must to kill him! Teng Qingshan scanned the surroundings. “Hmm, there is also no one in the vicinity now!”

Hu!

Teng Qingshan’s speed suddenly increased at an amazing rate.

Qing Gong — Crossing Worlds!

“I will definitely take revenge for the arm that you took from me.” Resentment grew in Meng Tian. “Chase after me? Hmph, how can his speed compare to mine!” Meng Tian was full of confidence.

He had always been the kind to rely on his speed to win. Furthermore, he had also used a forbidden move earlier, thus increasing his speed even more.

Truly......

If Teng Qingshan had not applied the skill of 《Crossing Worlds》, he would not have been able to catch up.

“What?” Meng Tian could not help but turn his head around towards the sounds he heard coming from behind, and his face paled. Teng Qingshan’s speed was faster than his!

“That’s impossible!!!” Meng Tian was filled with disbelief.

“Die, Meng Tian!” Teng Qingshan roared.

“I’m already suffering from serious injuries. If the fight is continued, I will definitely be killed by Teng Qingshan. I lost my arm earlier because my Blood Moon Saber is shorter than his spear. This time around, even if his spear pierced through me, I would seize the opportunity to kill him.” Meng Tian made up his mind to kill Teng Qingshan at all costs.

Even if he were to die, he would bring Teng Qingshan along with him!

Meng Tian howled out in a state of craziness, “We will die together!” The Blood Moon Saber in his arms slashed towards Teng Qingshan.

Meng Tian was already prepared to receive the powerful blow from Teng Qingshan’s spear.

But —

He was wrong.

This time around, Teng Qingshan did not employ the spear art, Pursuing Shadow.

Instead —–

“Haha......” Teng Qingshan laughed out loud, and whirled the spear in his hand. It appeared as if he had grabbed a large stick, and like how a parent would discipline their child, just freely smash it towards Meng Tian without any hint of spear or staff art forms!

Chi chi~

Teng Qingshan raised his arms up high!

Rumble!

The smash from Teng Qingshan’s spear created a loud blast, making it sound as if a loud clash of thunder had appeared out of nowhere. The immense pressure had also caused the land nearby to blow up.

“Boom!”

With a loud blast, nothing but a coat of bloodied fog was left.

“Haha. That was very satisfying. Such a rare opportunity to display all of my power.” Teng Qingshan looked at the blood-coated earth. That simple smash a moment ago had encompassed the strongest power from Teng Qingshan — an immense force of a hundred and eighty thousand Jin!

One man with the strength to overpower ten warriors!

Regardless of what skills one employed or what mental state one was in!

A swing of the spear would smash and blow a person up into a pile of muddy flesh.

There was no longer any corpse on the ground. That swing with a great force of a hundred and eighty thousand Jin had reached a terrifying speed and compressed the air in front of it. When the Reincarnation Spear smashed onto Meng Tian’s body, it had instantly ruptured all his bones and muscles. The compressed air had also exploded, causing Meng Tian’s entire body to blow up and disappear without a trace.

A force of a hundred and eighty thousand Jin!

The pinnacle force of the Grandmaster!

The expert from 《Earth Ranking》, Meng Tian, had been eliminated without any remains left under the face of absolute power.

The only remnant Meng Tian left behind was – The Blood Moon Saber!

“This Blood Moon Saber is worthy of its name as a legendary weapon, suffering not a single scratch from the force of my strength of a hundred and eighty thousand Jin.” Teng Qingshan was full of admiration as he picked up the Blood Moon Saber. “Meng Tian, you are the first expert from the 《Earth Ranking》 that I have killed. This Blood Moon Blade will be the proof to that!”

Teng Qingshan scanned the surrounding darkness. “There are countless experts across the Nine Prefectures. Now that I’ve killed Meng Tian today, I’m afraid that my name will also spread across the world!”

......

Nightfall. The Black Armored Army, as well as Zhu Chongshi and company, waited outside the dilapidated Sha Shi Inn.

“Why is Qingshan not back yet.” Teng Qinghu was slightly anxious.

Beside him, Zhu Chongshi laughed and said, “Don’t worry. Since Brother Qingshan has already inflicted serious injury upon Meng Tian, he won’t be in any danger, even if he can’t actually kill Meng Tian.

“While that’s true, everyone knows that when an expert of the Earth Ranking goes all out, it is still very terrifying.”

At this moment, the sound of footsteps could be heard.

Teng Qingshan emerged from the darkness.

“Qingshan!” Teng Qinghu gleamed in delight and was the first one to step up.

“Brother Qingshan, how was it?” Zhu Chongshi also stepped forward. Teng Qingshan smiled as he raised the Blood Moon Saber in his hands. “From today onwards, there is no longer anyone by the name of Meng Tian.”

While everyone was somewhat prepared for this, they were still surprised.

It is one thing to injure an expert from the Earth Ranking. It is another to kill him.

“Qingshan, now that you have killed Meng Tian, you have also become an expert of the 《Earth Ranking》. Your name will definitely be listed in the new list!” Zhu Chongshi exclaimed. The Du Hong who was standing beside him also exclaimed, “Lord Lieutenant, to be able to be listed in the 《Earth Ranking》at your young age means that you can also be listed in the 《Hidden Dragon Ranking》. To be on both lists at the same time, haha...... you are the first to do so in our Gui Yuan Sect.”

Everyone was excited.

Everyone knew that there was one strict principle for the ranking of the 《Earth Ranking》 —- One had to kill an expert from the 《Earth Ranking》 in a one-on-one fight or make him admit defeat. The winner would then replace the expert in the 《Earth Ranking》. This was the fastest way! If one only injured, it would not be sufficient to take over the position.

That meant, Teng Qingshan would directly take on the 61st position on the 《Earth Ranking》.

“61st on the 《Earth Ranking》!” Everyone exclaimed.

Across the Nine Prefectures, there were many challengers who attempted to take on the experts of the 《Earth Ranking》 daily. However, these experts did not take on opponents often. Even if they were to take on an opponent, they would win most of the time. Many challengers were killed in the process. Regardless, there were still many who would try to take on the challenge just to make a name for themselves.

By killing Meng Tian, Teng Qingshan would be stepping on the corpse of Meng Tian to rise to the 61st position on the 《Earth Ranking》 with honor.

From today onwards, Teng Qingshan would no longer be an ordinary warrior. There would be many people vainly challenging him in hopes of victory.

“The more the merrier. It would be best if some true experts came.” Teng Qingshan was looking forward to it.

Experts tended to be lonely. They would be happier instead if they faced challengers who could fight well against them.

......

“Brother Zhu, how are our losses?” Teng Qingshan asked Zhu Chongshi. Zhu Chongshi felt a tinge of dismay. “Of the eighty guards under me, there were thirty-six who died and eighteen who were badly injured. The rest of the men mostly also suffer from light injury. That means, only the remaining twenty-six can still fight.”

Teng Qingshan sighed.

With more than half of the team killed or injured, it was indeed disastrous.

“Old Du.” Teng Qingshan looked at Du Hong.

Du Hong’s face was grim. “Lieutenant. We lost two of our brothers and there is another one who is badly injured. He was lucky that the sword that pierced through his waist had not kill him! The rest of the men are still alright.” As the Black Armored Army were donned with heavy armor, they were usually safe; if not, the attacks tended to be fatal.

The Black Armored Army ended up with two deaths and one wounded.

“What about the enemies?” Teng Qingshan inquired.

“The other side has over eighty casualties while the remaining escaped after seeing that they were at a disadvantage.” Du Hong replied.

Zhu Chongshi patted Teng Qingshan on the shoulders. “Brother Qingshan, don’t think too much about it. Luckily you warned us early so that we were able to force out the poison with our internal strength. If it was a tad later......Or, if you were not able to push back Meng Tian, it would’ve definitely been the end of us. Not sure who the one able to send an expert of Meng Tian’s level was, but that is also a good thing, since Brother Qingshan was able to kill Meng Tian and be listed in the 《Earth Ranking》.”

“Everyone, it’s late. We’d better hurry up and deal with the corpses of the brothers who had died and have an early rest. We will set off first thing tomorrow morning.” Zhu Chongshi said.

Everyone immediately headed to the backyard, preparing to deal with the corpses.

“Qingshan, you really are powerful.” Teng Qinghu said excitedly as he walked beside Teng Qingshan. “Someone from our Teng Clan has concurrently made the list of the 《Earth Ranking》 and the 《Hidden Dragon Ranking》; once grandfather and the rest hear about it, they will probably wake up from their smiles even if they’re dreaming.”